Jeb Bush Blasts Clinton for 'Insulting' Veterans

Westwood, Sarah, Examiner (Washington, D.C.), The

Jeb Bush joined the chorus of Republicans blasting Hillary
Clinton for suggesting the Department of Veterans Affairs' problems
have been overblown when he called her comments "an insult" to
veterans Tuesday.

The former Florida governor touted his own plan to overhaul the
VA, which includes expanding veterans' access to private care if
they choose to leave the VA system.

Clinton stirred controversy last week when she accused
Republicans of exploiting concerns about the VA in order to advance
a partisan plan to "privatize" the agency.

"I don't understand why we have such a problem, because there
have been a number of surveys of veterans and, overall, veterans who
do get treated are satisfied with their treatment," Clinton told
MSNBC's Rachel Maddow on Friday.

"Now, nobody would believe that from the coverage that you see
and the constant berating of the VA that comes from the
Republicans," she added.

While Clinton acknowledged the "scandal" that has struck the VA
in recent years, she said it has "not been as widespread as it has
been made out to be."

"If there is a waiting period that is just unacceptable you
should be able, in a sense, [to] get the opportunity to go out and
have a private physician take care of you, but at the cost of the
VA," Clinton said, alluding to a "veteran's choice" program that has
been popular with Republicans.

The choice program allows veterans to obtain private sector
health care using VA funds. However, agency officials successfully
pushed Congress to allow them to raid funding for the program
earlier this year to cover budget shortfalls created by troubled VA
hospitals.

Clinton said the VA's struggle "goes deeper" than the long
waiting periods that have caused controversy over the past year.

"If you look at not only VA healthcare but at the backlog of
disability determinations, there's something not working within the
bureaucracy, and I have said, I would like to literally appoint a
SWAT team. I mean, bring in people and just tackle the disability,
have an ongoing review of the care that is being given, do more to
ensure that every VA hospital is delivering care to the highest
standard of the community because unfortunately some are doing a lot
better job than others are," Clinton said.

The VA did indeed score well on the 2013 American Customer
Satisfaction Index, which ranked aspects of VA care on a 0-100
scale. Inpatient care received a rating of 84, while customer
service earned a 91.

Veterans groups criticized the survey, however, because it polled
only veterans who did not get any kind of treatment outside VA
facilities.

"This ignores an obvious reality that the Veterans Administration
should be all too familiar with -- veterans are not like non-
veterans. What we think is great may be subpar to non-veterans," a
group called Disabled Veterans wrote in a blog post shortly after
the survey's release.

According to a survey commissioned by Concerned Veterans for
America that was conducted earlier this month, a majority of all
veterans believe it is "extremely important" to allow VA patients to
have healthcare options outside of the government-run system.

"Despite yearly budgetary increases in the billions, and a
workforce twice the size of the Marine Corps, the problems of long
wait times, poor customer service and lack of accountability
continue to pervade the VA," John Cooper, spokesman for Concerned
Veterans for America, told the Washington Examiner.

"Mrs. Clinton may want to minimize the problems at the VA, but
veterans recognize the VA desperately needs reform," Cooper added.
"It is unfortunate that politicians like Mrs. Clinton refuse to put
forth solutions that will give veterans the choice and
accountability they deserve."

Clinton called criticisms of the VA "a perfect example of the way
that the Republicans try to have it both ways."

"They try to create a downward spiral. Don't fund it to the
extent that it needs to be funded because we want it to fail so that
we can argue for privatization," she said. …

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